confessions of a reformed tourist
The summer I was 16 I went skin-diving in Hawaii. Have you ever? Propelled yourself as deep as possible, greedily seeing all you can see before your breath expires? Before the trip I practiced and practiced. I learned all the tricks. I exercised my will of iron. I got to the point where I could [...]
Billy Joe Danforth didn’t catch many of the details of his parents’ accident until later. Janice the social worker continued to talk, but he didn’t hear a word. There was a roaring sound in his ears, like he was sitting under a waterfall. He looked down at her hand covering his. On her middle finger [...]
Billy Joe Danforth had his heart set on baseball ever since the 2001 All-Star game, when he witnessed Alex Rodriguez offer his place to Cal Ripken. As the crowd went wild, stood up in ovation, Daddy turned to him and said, “Now you see that, son? That is respect.” Then he upended his can of [...]
That day, the day Gregory and I forgot that the sun sets, we had already known each other for years. We were both sophomores. We were both 19. We were both home for October break. And we both owned hiking boots. Weeks earlier I had promised him – over email – that I would show [...]
maria at piscesinpurple dot com
